Harry Hamlin as Jim Cutler, Christina Hendricks as Joan Harris and Robert Morse as Bertram Cooper in The Field Trip. (Photo by Michael Yarish, AMC)

Sunday night’s “Mad Men” hour (season 7, episode 3, “Field Trip”) was more active that last week’s slow, almost stagnant hour. The “Field Trip” episode is about getting away from the day-to-day to better appreciate what’s up. In Don’s case it’s about humiliations paired with nasty, cutting words. “I can’t say that we missed you,” Peggy offers when Don shows up at the office. And there’s an undercurrent of self pity: Harry and his sideburns begging for better technology; Megan under a dark cloud even in sunny L.A.; Betty the unfit mother.

Don has trouble loving or needing people, but he realizes he loves and needs work. He needs work so much he agrees to go back with all kinds of stipulations — he mustn’t be alone with clients, he must stick to the agreed upon script, no drinking in the office, and he’ll report to the stiff and humorless Lou.

“Okay,” he says simply.

Cue Jimi Hendrix: “If 6 was 9.” You know, “If the sun refused to shine, I don’t mind.” Check the lyrics, point on Mister Businessman. How long will this humiliation last? The teaser for the coming installment suggests the next crisis will spring Don back into action.Read more…

Spoilers…Don’t read until you’ve seen Sunday night’s “GoT” episode. Note, all based on the TV show, not the books.

So much tutoring, so little time. Tonight’s brisk, building-block episode moved the story forward, with the gargantuan cast of characters studying tricks they’ll need for what’s to come. In “Oathkeeper,” everybody’s cramming: from Grey Worm’s reading lesson to Jaime’s (failed) sword lesson to Littlefinger schooling Sansa in power (“Always keep your foes confused”) to Lady Olenna’s tutoring of Margaery in how to handle the future king, to John Snow’s lesson in how to fight Wildlings.

We begin with Dany’s decision, whether to answer injustice with mercy or go the more violent route? C’mon, this is “Game of Thrones”! She choses to crucify some 163 masters of the newly freed slaves and stands tall amid unmistakable fascist architecture. No dragons, however.

The mystery of Joffrey’s killer? It took an alliance. Littlefinger acknowledged supplying the poison in the necklace’s missing stone. Olenna likewise acknowledged her part in poisoning the sadistic creep: “You don’t think I’d let you marry that beast?” she asks Margaery. She’s learned through the years to “do what needs to be done.” And Tyrion stews in prison while proclaiming his innocence to brother Jaime.

Speaking of whom, last week’s incestuous rapist is this week’s hero. Jaime boldly dispatches Brienne to “get Sansa to somewhere safe.” He not only gives her a (X-large) suit of armour and a squire, but Ned Stark’s sword of Valyrian steele. Against Cersei’s command, he is keeping his promise to keep Sansa safe. Brienne will name the sword Oathkeeper in his honor. Meanwhile Cersei is in her cups. She wants Sansa’s head. Tyrion’s, too.

The biggest turn of the hour: Bran, Hodor et al. captured! Bran identifies himself and Karl knows he’s got a valuable high-born hostage. This was just after Bran heard a baby crying in the woods, the last-born of the Crasters. Karl, the villain of the hour, who drinks wine from Mormont’s skull and commands his crew to rape Craster’s daughter-wives “until they’re dead,” offered the babe up to the gods, sort of.

A White Walker riding a dead horse takes the baby to an icy stonehenge, where another Walker approaches, touches the baby with a long icy fingernail and the baby’s eyes turn …a frozen blue.

Hectic pace, too many characters and storylines, but a well drawn roundup to build tension and push ahead.

Joanne Ostrow has been watching TV since before "reality" required quotation marks. "Hill Street Blues" was life-changing. If Dickens, Twain or Agatha Christie were alive today, they'd be writing for television. And proud of it.